Thursday, September 13, 2007

Here's plenty for comment . . .

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

~anonymous

All belief systems are just dry bones unless they impel people to actions which edify humanity or improve the natural world, or both. GDC

"Quite rightly we criticize that in most Islamic states the role ofreligion in society and the secular character of the legal system arenot clearly separated. But we haven't taken note as readily of theU.S. Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the biblethat show similar tendencies."

"There is thus little scope for peaceful resolutions if both sidesclaim to have a monopoly on the only truth."

Gerhard Schroder, former German Chancellor, in "Decisions: My Life in Politics," published in Der Spiegel magazine

So it didn't take an attack or cancer for him to reflect on his own mortality-he did it all the time. You know, he'd say, "One of these days I'm gonna be dead and you're gonna have to look after these trees!" And I'd be, "Stop saying that, Dad!" And he'd be like, "But it's true." Because he was a realist. And I'm very much the same way. Everyone is gonna die, but no one thinks they're gonna die. No one. And that's like the biggest blind spot that everyone in the world has, this inability to believe that they're gonna die. And I think the sooner you address that, the better, really. It's like practice, really.

Dhani Harrison, regarding his father, George Harrison

Jameson said, "Several times in my life I've been in a tough spot, something I couldn't get out of by myself. Somebody always came along. Most often it was a stranger, somebody I never saw before or ever saw again. Seems like we go through life owing gratitude to strangers. The only way we can ever repay them is to help some other stranger. It all evens up, in the long pull."-- from Buffalo Wagons, by Elmer Kelton (p. 134)

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can;and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the endbrings me out all right, what is said against me won'tamount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong,ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."

-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"There is mounting evidence that failure to respond to the business risks associated with climate change could result in multi-billion dollar losses for U.S. businesses and investment portfolios," said John Harrington, CEO of Harrington Investments and author of The Challenge To Power: Money, Investing and Democracy. "In addition, companies that take proactive measures to address climate risk enjoy lower costs, higher profit margins and enhanced customer loyalty. With companies outside the U.S. already taking a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, American companies face a 'sustainability gap' that could affect their competitive edge."

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

About Me

I've been a number of things over the years: husband, father, environmental technical specialist, college instructor, carpenter, volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver, student of Lakota and Japanese languages, technical writer, process engineer, research technician, IT technician, emergency dispatcher, etc.